Chapter 116: Don’t Speak Nonsense
Translated by Karai of Exiled Rebels Scanlations
Editor: Addis
Su Mo agreed to join the team and then saw the IDs of various team members. Because they were on a separate mission line, inside the scene, the team leader was on Momo’s account, while outside the scene, the leader became UnchainedWanderer. The first two teams still consisted of their 10 IDs, with all other positions in the team already filled, making up a complete reorganized team with him.
“ReturnToSimplicity!”
“I knew there was a spot left in the team. Did the big boss join too?”
Su Mo was slightly stunned by this sight. He heard the discussions among the other team members and glanced over the people in the team. Celestial Horizon was a full team of 50 people, with the other 40 being guild masters or elite team leaders from various guilds, besides their own 10.
He messaged Yu Zhen privately: “Do they not know that ReturnToSimplicity is your main account?”
Yu Zhen replied: “Some people don’t know.”
Su Mo asked again, “Should we keep it a secret?”
Yu Zhen replied, “Up to you.”
Su Mo found this strange. He checked the configuration of ReturnToSimplicity’s account and noticed two voice settings. Yu Zhen’s gaming voice was not the default one; it differed from his real voice. On the account, there were two settings: one was the default voice setting, and the other was labeled with ‘array’, likely the voice setting for array master.
Each account had its independent voice information. During the teleportation, Su Mo glanced at the settings of both voices. One was set up when Celestial Horizon started, while the timing of the other was more subtle, added several months ago…
“Are both voices on different accounts, brother Zhen?” Su Mo had always assumed Yu Zhen’s account had a unified voice. He chose the default one to avoid confusion or accidental exposure during communication.
After making the selection, he suddenly remembered the timing when the array master’s voice was added. It coincided with the Valor Peak hunting grounds incident. Thinking of this, he was suddenly stunned. How did he determine it back then? Was it because he heard UnchainedWanderer’s voice on the ReturnToSimplicity account?
So back then… Did Zhen intentionally let him figure it out?
CloudTraveller had long known from UnchainedWanderer that Momo was behind ReturnToSimplicity’s operations. He didn’t waste any time and immediately said, “ReturnToSimplicity, hurry to the fishing village and remember to switch to Global Conquest mode.”
There were also members in the team who belonged to exploration groups. CloudTraveller and others tacitly understood not to reveal the fact that ReturnToSimplicity was a high-level alt account. Although this matter wasn’t a secret within their private small group, ReturnToSimplicity had not publicly disclosed it, and they had no reason to expose someone’s alias. Without permission, they usually kept such matters confidential. In public settings, they referred to ReturnToSimplicity as ReturnToSimplicity and UnchainedWanderer as UnchainedWanderer.
When they saw ReturnToSimplicity join the team, BitterMelon and others thought he had brought in reinforcements on a high-level alt account. After all, dealing with 25,000 healing tasks alone was already challenging enough; handling two accounts simultaneously was indeed overwhelming.
It wasn’t until Su Mo arrived at the fishing village that he realized just how chaotic things were outside in Global.
Firstly, this is an open scene where players from the entire server can come over, which presents a significant challenge in terms of command and control. After the appearance of the Global Boss, Celestial Horizon’s official system automatically activated the [Conquest Channel] and [Global Conquest Mode].
The former facilitated player communication, while the latter adjusted the mode to prevent accidentally harming players from opposing factions in the wilderness. However, with so many players arriving, despite repeated reminders in the Conquest Channel, some players still hadn’t switched modes and ended up mistakenly attacking those engaged in boss conquest. Furthermore, some individuals took advantage of the situation to cause trouble and engage in indiscriminate killing.
In the end, several major guilds stepped forward to manage the situation, blacklisting troublemakers to reduce disruptions. Yet even so, there were still inexperienced players unaware of the situation.
With more people comes more issues, making it difficult to coordinate effectively.
Outside, players were already aware of the boss’s five skill mechanisms, but compared to the boss inside the mission scene, the skills of the Lord of the Deep Sea outside had a much broader range. For instance, the summoned minions multiplied several times, and the explosion radius of the red circles instantly took out five or six people…
Observing from a high vantage point for a while, Su Mo had a rough understanding of the current situation outside.
Mainly relying on the elite teams of various major guilds, along with other organizers in the Conquest Channel, to facilitate unified command. However, apart from them, individual players, small groups of friends and relatives were scattered, claiming to be orderly but not entirely so.
With many players, there were also many guarantees.
CloudTraveller’s approach was to use a group of people equipped with items like Runic Waters to lure the boss and keep it in place, while others stood in the seawater to fight monsters, endure whip attacks, resist small monsters, and the healing team provided strong healing. If someone died, they would use resurrection symbols or engage in healing battles.
In such chaotic circumstances, this method was indeed effective…
However, they didn’t know that the boss’s defense mechanism was based on deaths. The more people died, the harder it would be to defeat the boss. This method ensured output and controlled the boss, but it accumulated under the premise of sacrifice.
After all this effort, the boss’s health was only at 75%, and it even had natural healing.
The occasional healing rate was faster than the rate of damage, making it impossible to effectively attack.
Su Mo spoke up in the team channel, “Where did you get your Runic Waters?”
Inside the venue, Runic Waters were almost always in the hands of players, dropping when hit by whip attacks, indeed luring the boss but also providing it with supplies.
“Resources from various guilds, Zenith Expanse contributed the most.”
Because the next stronghold belonged to Zenith Expanse, Runic Waters weren’t considered particularly precious resources. Once the boss reached the stronghold, the losses wouldn’t be limited to just Runic Waters; other materials would also be consumed. Using Runic Waters to secure the stronghold was a profitable deal.
Yu Zhen timely interjected, “Do you understand the defense mechanism?”
“Understood,” Su Mo briefly explained the mechanism, including the combination patterns on the boss’s body and his speculated mechanisms involving deaths and mana.
Those in the team who were unaware of the situation were suddenly struck by the voices of ReturnToSimplicity and UnchainedWanderer. Their voices sounded somewhat similar, and the tone of their conversation was very familiar, like two old friends who had known each other for many years. But who knew that UnchainedWanderer and ReturnToSimplicity were good friends?
Others in the team who hadn’t been paying attention to the voices focused solely on the conversation between the two, falling into brief contemplation after hearing about the mechanism.
Someone asked, “ReturnToSimplicity, is your conclusion reliable?”
Su Mo replied, “Oh, it should be reliable, as momo said.”
Yu Zhen added, “Yeah, the intelligence indeed came from Momo.”
Others were speechless.
CloudTraveller cleared his throat a couple of times, “ReturnToSimplicity, you take command. You’re familiar with the mechanics, and I’ll focus on boss DPS.”
It was already past 11 PM at night, well beyond Su Mo’s usual bedtime. Even though he had adjusted his schedule and informed Lele, he could only stay active until around 1 AM, when his internet would automatically disconnect as per the loader’s settings.
The best course of action was to act swiftly. With so many people involved, being able to execute according to his own strategy would be ideal.
Su Mo didn’t hesitate and immediately asked, “Can I rearrange the raid as I see fit?”
Elite teams from other guilds indicated their approval with a +1 in the channel. Some cautious guild leaders didn’t immediately agree, instead asking about his deployment strategy.
“No need for Runic Water. The guild’s elite teams disperse into groups of 8 full squads: Doaist priests, mages, and magical swordsmen. Each group is assigned a cleric, stationed entirely in the sea,” Su Mo continued, “Other melee professions form their own groups, equipped with mana potions. Healers and clerics are mixed, with the sea teams having four times more clerics than the land teams.”
“Furthermore, the sea teams gather together, while the land teams remain dispersed.”
Sleep, the elite team leader from Zenith Expanse, spoke up, “Master, with this setup, the land teams will be too scattered and have weak defense.”
“But hate will be taken away by the sea teams. No damage is the best defense. Doaist priests and mages are long-range professions that consume a lot of mana. Doaist priests bring defense symbols, mages bring self-protection, and magical swordsmen are specialized in rapid mana recovery once their mana drops below 30%. Clerics provide mana regeneration buffs with the healing tree.”
Su Mo quickly explained, “With this setup, the mana fluctuations for the sea teams will be significant—quickly depleting and recovering mana. When they all gather together, the magical swordsmen form the Great Sword Formation, while Doaist priests and mages focus on self-protection. They’re a team capable of self-sustainment and drawing a large amount of hate.”
He elaborated, “Melee attackers on the land are stationed apart. As long as they don’t group together, hate won’t exceed that of the sea teams. The boss’s main attacks will be directed at them, maintaining distance so the boss faces the sea. This prevents the boss from increasing its attacks by entering the water. The sea teams can use the seawater to cleanse debuffs, reducing the maximum casualties.”
“It’s challenging with the mechanics and the commanding point is too significant. How can you ensure others won’t end up dead?”
“Yeah, even if our elite teams survive, others will still die.”
Some players instantly grasped Su Mo’s ideas from his description.
CloudTraveller also agreed, “It’s a good strategy. We didn’t utilize dispersion well before.”
Bitter Melon said, “So are we going in now?”
Yu Zhen replied, “After forming the teams, switch to multi-team voice mode for easy command communication among the new team leaders.”
Sleep didn’t object and immediately signaled agreement with a “1” in the team chat. Those who had just voiced doubts were puzzled, but due to the majority’s agreement, they also consented to the deployment, intending to see how effective the command would be.
The efficiency of the guild’s elite teams was remarkable; they completed the perfect deployment in just ten minutes.
Players in the small fishing village of the East Sea quickly noticed the movements of several elite teams. They observed that instead of standing separately, the teams were now mixed together, with several groups crowded on the sea surface, creating a dense and intricate formation.
A large group of magical swordsmen, Doaist priests, and clerics charged towards the sea, while the other melee fighters remained on the land. Some players didn’t quite understand this maneuver. Some adjusted their positions to stay on the crowded but dispersed land, while others aimed to benefit from the seawater buff and stayed in the sea to continue their output.
As a result, within a few minutes, players in the sea had to retreat back to the shore.
This was because all of the boss’s tentacles were attacking the sea! Not only did they create waves, but they also caused injuries. Despite the hate being directed towards the elite teams, those on the sea didn’t have access to the specialized healing and defense provided to the large groups. Even if they squeezed in, they couldn’t necessarily receive healing. In contrast, those on the shore, although scattered and lacking buffs, were not taking any damage!
In no time, most of the solo players and small teams adjusted their positions. Only scattered individuals remained in the sea, which didn’t affect the overall strategy.
Players who were initially puzzled within the elite teams suddenly understood.
“I get it now.”
“Awesome, this is like having spellcasting professions tanking the boss, giving melee fighters the opportunity to deal damage.”
“And spellcasting professions in the seawater can even endure damage and poison, basically handling attacks without worry.”
This utilized players’ tendency to seek benefits and avoid harm along with the group effect! As long as there were enough members in the elite teams, they could clearly delineate two distinct areas on the map: one on the sea surface and one on the land. With so many people gathered on the sea, still holding the primary aggro, all of the boss’s damage was directed there. Normal players who played the game properly would choose a stable output environment for their attacks instead of enduring damage on the sea. Therefore, those who understood how to observe their surroundings opted for the safer shore and followed the majority.
Moreover, those on the shore stood scattered. Besides small groups gathering on the shore, the majority dispersed to ensure safety. This further minimized casualties on a large scale compared to the eight hate groups on the sea.
“Let the other branch servers adjust their positions like this.”
“Raise waves and pay attention to positions. The sea group should not disperse; continue to stick together.” Su Mo stood on the rocky high ground by the seaside, overlooking the situation on the sea and land of the fishing village. Although he hadn’t played as a marksman, he had studied the effects and cooldowns of marksman skills. Among all professions in Celestial Horizon, marksman had the longest range, so as long as they didn’t move, the boss was within their shooting range.
Boss’s aggro determination was based on mana fluctuation. According to Su Mo’s observation, these fluctuations were judged based on three aspects: the speed of mana regeneration, the concentration of mana, and the number of mana buffs.
Mages generally had thick mana bars and fast mana regeneration rates, ensuring sufficient mana concentration. Additionally, clerics and magical swordsmen maintained mana buffs and regeneration rates. As long as there were enough gathered players, they generated significantly more aggro compared to players scattered on land. Therefore, as long as the sea group remained cohesive and lacked high-concentration materials like Runic Water, the likelihood of injuries on land was very low.
“No need to run when going out of circles. The sea group should tank hard; seawater can neutralize debuffs,” Su Mo scanned the land, “For those on land who can follow commands, if named for enclosure, you have 3 seconds to jump into the sea if possible; if not, wait for rescue. Regenerate mana wisely, taking potions when the first ten groups reach 50% mana and the latter ten groups reach 25%, and naturally disperse when regenerating mana.”
“Rearrange the elite professions with ranged professions in the rear, melee in front for output, mid-range for healing, and ranged for mages and marksmen. When summoning, summoners summon bears, and array masters defend the array to cover the back row, maximizing team protection.”
With the orders issued, guild elite leaders forwarded instructions, and each profession immediately moved. On the land, they formed inner and outer circles, with the inner circle consisting entirely of scattered melee and the outer circle comprising ranged and healing. The elite teams were all skilled, and the positions for defense arrays and bear summonings were strategically precise.
Just as the elite guild leaders finished arranging everything, they heard the next command from the leader.
“Pay attention to skill cooldowns. Each team’s array masters and other shield-protecting professions should coordinate their timing. Leaders, take charge of arrangements; any mistakes will be your own responsibility.”
Other leaders were speechless.
The sea group required four professions, disrupting the elite teams of various guilds, and even forming mixed teams from different guilds.
However, the situation was different for the land groups. Except for wild groups and scattered teams, the elite teams within each guild were mostly composed of their own guild members. Most of them were deployed in dispersed positions under the clear guild emblems. Once any guild made a mistake, it was plainly visible from the guild emblem, and the embarrassing consequences of dragging their feet were equivalent to losing face in front of players across the entire server.
When it came to guild honor, indeed, making a mistake meant losing face for oneself.
All the team leaders immediately reorganized their teams, making sure not to make any mistakes with cooldowns, especially not in front of so many people.
Some leaders had already taken action. As for the Fruit Platter’s elite team leaders, just a moment ago they were discussing the relationship between ReturnToSimplicity and UnchainedWanderer while fighting monsters. Upon hearing the warning about being responsible for the consequences, they felt an inexplicable sense of fear rising.
“Suddenly I feel like the sea team is under a lot of pressure. Everyone on the server is watching; if there’s chaos in aggro, it’s on them.”
“Don’t we have pressure too? If you mess up, the whole guild takes the blame.”
“Do you guys feel like ReturnToSimplicity’s tone sounds familiar?”
“The style of this command feels strangely familiar.”
This was not just calling names; it immediately made some players reminisce about the time when they rushed for rankings in Pear Blossom Hollow, a familiar name floating in their minds.
At this moment, inside the internal command channel of Fruit Platter, their deputy guild leader Watermelon said in a chilly tone, “You guys just realized? The way he talks, even if he turns to ashes, I’d still recognize…”
Before he could finish his sentence, another voice interrupted—
A main team leader asked, “Commander, what about the front line?”
“Warriors use Giant Mountain Shield, physical swordsmen prepare for defense,” Su Mo’s voice continued, “As for assassins, find a place to hide, don’t die.”
Watermelon completed the latter half of the sentence, “If it’s not Momo, I’ll take my head off and let you kick it.”
The Fruit Platter guild leaders were speechless.
Players who had participated in rankings recalled their fear, while those who hadn’t were shocked by the revelation that ReturnToSimplicity was Momo.
What? ReturnToSimplicity’s account belongs to Momo??? ReturnToSimplicity is Momo’s main account? But wait, weren’t these two accounts playing together in Valor Peak’s hunting grounds? They couldn’t be the same person, right? Or could they? Why would ReturnToSimplicity, a newbie’s account, be associated with Momo like this? What’s the relationship?!
…
All elite teams became alert. They couldn’t focus on other solo players or guilds, but they managed their own teams and members well.
Su Mo was unaware of others’ discussions; his attention was fully on the boss. The challenge outside lay in ensuring that the rate of damage dealt to the boss exceeded its healing rate. While deaths were unavoidable, minimizing casualties was the key to increasing output pressure on the boss.
“Ink Shield is up, all whip attacks are on the sea surface, and the main resistance can hold out.”
The red circles jump into the sea and explode. Even if hit, they only cause poisoning and won’t be fatal… But there’s one threat: randomly appearing minions. These minions exist for 30 seconds. If not killed, they have high attack power. If they stay in the crowd, they not only make players lose health faster, increase the risk of death, but also easily disrupt and interrupt the rhythm of player output.
Yu Zhen noticed that the position of the marksman at the high point was changing, and the attack frequency seemed to slow down. “What’s going on?”
Su Mo observed for a while. “We need to deal with the minions. Their presence in the crowd is a nuisance.”
“The frequency of minion spawns is faster than before, and there are more of them. Their attacks become more aggressive as the boss’s health decreases. The number of deaths in our team due to minions has increased.”
Su Mo immediately made a decision. “Minions are based on hate value. When minions appear, everyone stops attacking. Expand the position between melee and ranged by half a meter. All team leaders listen up: redistribute two professions responsible for pulling minions. Assassins take priority for melee and marksman for ranged, followed by array masters and warriors.”
Watermelon was speechless.
“Commander, may I ask why assassins and marksmen are given priority to pull mobs? Why are warriors and array masters in the second tier?”
“Warriors can attract hate from groups, and array masters have arrays to gather mobs. Shouldn’t these two professions be the first choice for pulling mobs?”
“The minions move at a moderate speed. Assassins and marksmen have the fastest movement speed and instant AoE attacks. They are less likely to be caught up with and can pull mobs immediately.”
Su Mo calmly explained, “Minions appear for 30 seconds. If you let warriors and array masters go, who will shield against the boss’s ultimate skill? Within those 30 seconds, it’s not just one skill but possibly multiple skills to consider. Protecting the large group of players is our top priority. We can’t afford too many deaths. Although assassins and marksmen have high damage output, their support roles for the team are minimal.”
These two professions are Solitary Wolf professions, suitable for solo paths in PvP, but when considering the interests of a large group in PvE, they must also follow a solo path.
“Of course, it’s just a suggestion. If you think warriors pulling mobs would be more stable, you can let warriors and array masters go. It depends on your team configuration. Just try not to die.”
The captains were speechless.
The commander explained the pros and cons of the suggestion to them, and provided four suitable professions for them to choose from. Upon closer inspection of their own team configurations, warriors were mostly positioned one per team, as were array masters. According to their original allocation, these positions were already fixed shield roles within the team. If one or two were temporarily reassigned to pull mobs, a team with sufficient professions could manage, but for teams lacking sufficient professions, sending warriors and array masters to pull mobs would be equivalent to interrupting cooldowns.
They dared not mess up either. By the same token, this was a server-wide raid against the boss. It was clear at a glance which guild was dragging its feet or breaking cooldowns and defenses. If they made a mistake and died, it was indeed their own business, and it was also their own disgrace to bear the blame.
In comparison, it was indeed the best choice for assassins and marksmen to pull mobs. During the process of pulling, there could also be healers providing healing, damage reduction, and array masters adding movement speed… It was a bit tough and tiring, but it was reasonable and maximized benefits.
In the elite first team of Fruit Gang, the warrior trembled and asked, “Deputy Leader, are you going to pull?”
Watermelon hesitated. “… I’ll do it.”
He should have realized long ago that Momo could always find the most suitable reasons to make assassins suffer. However, this time, having a marksman accompany them wasn’t a bad thing either. If assassins had to endure, marksman couldn’t have it easy either.
“The other teams are also using assassins and marksmen. Listen to the command. If you don’t understand how to pull mobs, watch me and head towards the village.” Watermelon’s expression was flat. “Warriors and array masters, listen up. If people die here after I leave, I’ll come back and settle the score with you.”
At this point, the boss summoned small monsters, and the commander spoke up, “Stop attacking the small monsters. Those pulling mobs, move to less crowded areas. Pull them into the village or randomly in the sea. Others, apply damage reduction and healing to them.”
The small monsters scattered in several places, landing among the elite team, and everyone else stopped attacking. The aggro was immediately snatched by those pulling mobs.
The player pulling mobs immediately drew aggro and dashed out of the crowd, sprinting towards the village. No need to say, going into the sea was a death wish, while going into the village allowed for some leisurely strolling. Of course, the village was the obvious choice.
Other players stood in place, watching their teammates pulling mobs disappear into the distance.
Commander: “Don’t just stand there, keep up the output.”
This grand scene also caught the eyes of other scattered players on the field, especially when they saw assassins and marksmen sprinting with a group of small monsters, leaving them in shock and confusion, until a player in Vicinity shouted:
“You can pull small monsters away, whoever has aggro should pull them!”
Some scattered players saw the mimicry of the elite team’s operations and gradually understood the key points, realizing what the skill mechanics they discussed in the raid channel meant. The Vicinity channel in the East Sea instantly became lively, with players informing each other in succession:
“It’s safe on the shore, don’t go into the water.”
“They can dodge Ink with shield-type skills!”
“Don’t cluster together, more people standing together attract aggro! Everyone, spread out.”
“Someone jumped into the sea with the red circle.”
“Don’t attack the small monsters, find someone to pull them.”
“Who’s pulling? Assassins and marksmen, that’s what their teams are doing.”
“If you don’t understand, learn from the big guilds, you won’t die.”
Silently, other players in the East Sea fishing village suddenly noticed the elite guilds’ tactics becoming more steady and orderly. They clustered on the sea surface while dispersing on land in inner and outer rings. Defense shields and healing were continuous, transitioning from the initial aggressive speed to a more cautious approach aimed at survival. The most significant change was that fewer people were dying, and aggro became more stable.
As time passed, almost imperceptibly, the boss’s defense gradually weakened, and its health dropped from 75% to 55%, all in less than an hour.
At midnight, although Midnight Bell wasn’t in the main group, the multi-team voice communication allowed him to hear the commands clearly and witness the changes after a new commander took charge. This large-scale PvE strategy, characterized by dispersion and large numbers of people, would significantly diminish the commander’s role in chaotic situations, eventually turning into a player-guided approach.
However, the command of ‘ReturnToSimplicity’ clarified this scene. The clearer the frontline and battle situation, the more it could mobilize obedience from scattered players and small groups. People always seek benefits and avoid harm; game players will always find the most suitable output environment amidst chaos. For players, they simply find the most stable output environment. Yet for the commander, ‘ReturnToSimplicity’ unwittingly made the most challenging players obey him.
This is a Global Boss raid gameplay that impacts the interests of the entire server, just like faction wars are server-wide gameplay. Everything cannot be judged on the surface. An excellent commander capable of leading such a large-scale operation would also excel as a faction war commander.
As the boss’s health continued to decrease, the situation on the scene gradually stabilized. Unbeknownst to them, others in the team gradually followed the commands of ‘ReturnToSimplicity’. Initially, they had doubts, but with correct command orders and organized team configurations, they managed to achieve what used to take hours in less than an hour, without major casualties.
The effectiveness was evident, forcing them to admire the commander’s strategy. They followed each subsequent command promptly and without hesitation. As the boss’s health dropped below 55%, it continued to decrease.
As they approached 50%, everyone held their breath, especially the guild leaders who often led PvE raids. They understood very well what awaited them after 50%. If the boss before 50% was the normal phase, after 50% would be the enhanced phase, where they would face even more formidable pressure.
At 51%, the commander’s voice appeared in the channel.
“All guild leaders, attention. Array masters, start stacking arrays early. Prepare defensive arrays of three layers or more. Physical swordsmen, keep your Great Sword Formation ready. Magical swordsmen and Daoist priests, follow up with defensive measures.”
Su Mo’s gaze focused on the steadily decreasing health bar. “Prepare to withstand the ultimate skill.”
At 50%, the totemic patterns on the Lord of the Deep Sea, the Global Boss, began to change. Its skin faintly turned reddish, and its crimson pupils deepened slightly. Soon after, red circles appeared on the ground one after another, quickly covering its entire attack range.
Everyone was startled by this sudden change. There was nowhere to hide now. Almost immediately, all the guild leaders instructed their members to release the defensive skills they had prepared in advance. They had anticipated another ultimate skill, but they hadn’t expected it to be even more terrifying than they imagined.
Su Mo leaped down from a high point and, using the marksman’s super-fast movement speed, quickly ran into the nearest protective circle.
At the moment when all the red circles exploded, most of the bosses’ health plummeted to around 20%, while a small number of players with high defense still had about 50% health. As they marveled at what had just happened, the boss’s next move appeared.
Su Mo shouted urgently, “Healers, top off the health, prepare for the next one.”
The healers swiftly healed and boosted health levels, just as the boss’s tentacles suddenly dispersed.
Su Mo’s pupils contracted. “Fall back!”
The boss’s tentacles spread out completely on the same plane, immediately spinning around its center. Players who were too close and didn’t move away in time were directly struck by the spinning tentacles, especially melee professions and some ranged from the sea surface group, instantly sent flying in all directions.
Watermelon, returning from pulling mobs in the village, saw the players being thrown into the air from a distance. He halted his steps forward, listening to the cries of his teammates in their guild channel.
“This boss…”
“Are its tentacles really that long!!!”
“Unbelievable!!! How could this happen!!!”
“Quick, heal the injured, everyone else return to their positions, healers, heal me!”
Watermelon fell silent. If it hadn’t been his turn to pull mobs, as a melee fighter, he could have been one of the many colleagues thrown into the air.
Today’s mob pulling seemed to go pretty well.
At the seaside, the Lord of the Deep Sea’s spinning attack slowed down, and everyone quickly resumed their positions.
“Ranged DPS, keep attacking, push the boss’s health down. Sea surface team, reduce your output, gather and manage aggro properly, handle the mobs well.”
Su Mo kept an eye on the health bar. After dropping below 50%, the boss’s rate of losing health slowed down, likely due to its increased defense. Besides that, its attack intensity and frequency had increased, and most importantly, it would unleash two deadly ultimate skills.
The first was the full-screen red circles, leaving them with no place to escape, forcing them to rely on skills to endure.
The second was a knockback skill. While its damage wasn’t as high as other skills, it could disrupt their formation. Even the longest range of the ranged professions fell within the attack range of its tentacles, meaning they couldn’t avoid the skill in advance because the boss would follow them. They could only endure its spinning knockback, and after the rotation ended, quickly return to their original positions. As long as they didn’t die, they had a chance.
Luckily, this skill had been tested outside beforehand. If they had encountered it in a mission scenario without prior preparation, with only ScarletFruit as their healer, they would have been completely unable to withstand the onslaught from these two waves, especially the knockback. Its range was too far, and their escape speed couldn’t match the knockback.
“Players knocked back, use potions and activate shields yourselves. First task is to survive, then return to your original positions. Other players, quickly push down its health!”
The boss’s rapidly changing skills caused some casualties among the elite team. However, after pushing the health down to 49%, the boss didn’t unleash the full-screen red circles or spinning knockback. Seeing this, most players understood that these skills likely appeared at fixed percentages—3%, 5%, 10%, and so on.
Once they stabilized their positions, they resumed their steady output. Just at that moment, the aggressive boss suddenly stopped.
Su Mo’s gaze flickered slightly as he glanced at the system time. Two hours had passed; now it was daytime in the mission scenario, and the boss had entered a dormant state.
The boss could still move during nighttime, but during daytime dormancy, it was completely immobilized. However, the daytime arrival came just in time, giving the players some breathing room. Healers hurried to rescue the fallen, while players sat exhausted on the ground, never feeling so exhilarated after battling a boss.
“We’ll have to wait until the next scheduled time to continue,” CloudTraveller’s voice chimed in. “We seem to have fewer players now; some must have withdrawn.”
“It might be tough to proceed with fewer people later; its defense increases. Also, many players might have daytime commitments and will log off to rest.”
“Let’s stay up and continue. If worse comes to worst, we’ll hold out until morning when more players are online.”
“We can manage. We just need to get through two more nights, and it’ll be daylight again for resting.”
Currently, there weren’t as many players by the seaside as before, especially solo players. Some logged off due to gaming time constraints, while others withdrew because the boss was too difficult to tackle.
Su Mo surveyed the situation by the sea, observing the colossal creature up close, intending to uncover new insights from this boss. Just then, he heard someone calling his name in the Vicinity channel. He turned around to find UnchainedWanderer standing behind him.
Playing as a summoner, UnchainedWanderer had a youthful stature. In reality, he was shorter than Yu Zhen, and this was the first time Su Mo had looked at Yu Zhen from an eye-level perspective, giving him a different feeling.
“I just adjusted your skill settings; there were a few I wasn’t used to,” Su Mo spoke up.
“It’s okay; you can save your own set of settings and switch them whenever you log on,” Yu Zhen replied.
He added, “It’s getting late; are you logging off for rest?”
Su Mo checked the time; indeed, it was time for him to log off. However, the game was so engaging that he was reluctant to leave. He wanted to witness the boss’s defeat and understand the skill mechanics as well.
Yu Zhen seemed to understand his thoughts. “We only managed to chip away 1% in the last 5 minutes. With fewer and fewer people, we won’t finish tonight. CloudTraveller and the others are planning to stall the boss.”
Su Mo pondered for a moment. Indeed, there were likely more skills from the boss after this phase. It wouldn’t be easy to defeat.
Just as he was about to speak, Yu Zhen added, “I’ll keep an eye on the skill mechanics for you. You should log off and rest.”
Su Mo replied, “Alright then, I’ll log off.”
“Good night,” Yu Zhen said.
Su Mo hesitated briefly, murmured a low “good night” in return, and then logged off directly.
Everything changed when he saw the familiar surroundings of home, noticing the blanket draped over him. He suddenly realized and turned his head, seeing Yu Zhen sitting next to him with his eyes closed.
“Did brother Zhen forget something…?” he wondered aloud.
Lele walked over. “Su Mo, it’s time to sleep.”
He glanced at Yu Zhen beside him, lost in brief contemplation. “Should we wake Mr. Yu Zhen up first?”
***
Yu Zhen watched as Marksman logged out in front of him and then walked away. Unaware that not far from them, a few people were still standing, including someone named [LuckyScarletFruit].
ClearWind glanced at ScarletFruit. “Something’s not right, Fruit. Does Brother Wanderer know ReturnToSimplicity?”
“Can we say they don’t know each other? Oh no, are they going to break up my two big brother CP? I can’t allow that.”
ChatMasterWu and Apple, who followed them with alt accounts, instantly understood the situation upon seeing this scene. While others might not have caught on, being in their small group, they soon realized what Momo meant by “changing accounts” — it wasn’t about using alt accounts, but about being with ReturnToSimplicity.
Apple said, “I feel like the two big brothers…”
ScarletFruit glanced at him and said, “Prophet, please don’t talk nonsense.”
Apple was speechless.
Author’s note:
ScarletFruit: Please don’t poison Heal Me and the two big brothers, I beg you.
Apple: Can’t I say nice things either!!
